MAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


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Photographic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


33  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  NY    14S80 

(  716  1  873-4S03 


Cp, 


CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best 
original  copy  available  for  filming.  Features  of  this 
copy  which  may  be  bibliographically  unique, 
which  may  alter  any  of  the  images  in  the 
reproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  change 
the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checked  below. 


m 


n 


D 


n 


D 


n 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 


I      I    Covers  damaged/ 


Couverture  endommagie 


Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaurAe  et/ou  peiliculAe 


□    Cover  title  missing/ 
Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 

□    Coloured  maps/ 
Carttt^  g6ographi 


g6ographiques  en  couleur 


Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)/ 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 


I      I    Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 


Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 

Bound  with  other  material/ 
Reli6  avec  d'autres  documents 

Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
a^ong  interior  margin/ 

La  reliure  serr^e  peut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
uistortion  le  long  de  la  marge  intirieure 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanches  ajoutAes 
lors  d'une  restauration  apparaissent  dans  le  texte, 
mais,  lorsque  cela  Atait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  AtA  filmies. 

Additional  comments:/ 
Commentaires  supplAmentaires: 


L'Institut  a  microfilm^  le  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'il  lui  a  At6  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details 
de  cet  exemplaire  qui  sont  peut-Atre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  m6thode  normale  de  filmage 
sont  indiquAs  ci-dessous. 


[~n    Coloured  pages/ 


D 
D 
D 
D 


Pages  de  couleur 


□    Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommagies 

I      I    Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 


Pages  restaur6es  et/ou  pelliculAes 

Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxei 
Pages  d6color6es,  tachetAes  ou  piqu6es 

Pages  detached/ 
Pages  d^tachdes 

Showthrough/ 
Transparence 


I      I    Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 
I      I    Pages  detached/ 
I      I    Showthrough/ 


Quality  of  print  varies/ 
Qualiti  in^gale  de  I'impression 

Includes  supplementary  material/ 
Comprend  du  materiel  supplAmentaire 

Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  Edition  disponible 

Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  refilmed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalement  ou  partiellement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  une  pelure, 
etc.,  ont  hxh  filmAes  A  nouveau  de  fagon  it 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


Tt 
to 


Tf 

PC 

of 
fll 


Oi 
bi 
th 

si< 
ot 
fir 
sit 
or 


JY 
sh 
Tl 

wl 

M 

dii 
en 
be 

"« 
rei 
mi 


i 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  film6  aj  taux  de  reduction  indiquA  ci-dessous. 

10X  14X  18X  22X 


26X 


XX 


y 

12X 


16X 


20X 


24X 


28X 


32X 


Tha  copy  filmvd  h«r«  has  baan  raproducad  thanks 
to  tha  gbnarosity  of: 

Library  Diviiion 

Provincial  Archives  of  Bntith  Columbia 


L'axamplaira  filmA  fut  raproduit  grica  k  la 
ginArositA  da: 

Library  Divitinn 

Provinciiil  ArchivtM  of  Hnli\fi  Colurnhij 


Tha  imagas  appaaring  hara  ara  tha  bast  quality 
possibia  considaring  tha  condition  and  lagibility 
of  tha  original  copy  and  in  kaaping  with  tha 
filming  contract  spacifications. 


Original  copias  in  printad  papar  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  tha  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


Las  imagas  suivantas  ont  At*  reproduites  avac  la 
plus  grand  soin,  compta  tenu  de  la  condition  at 
de  la  nettetA  de  I'exemplaire  film*,  et  en 
conformity  avac  las  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmaga. 

Les  exemplairas  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  imprimAe  sont  filmAs  en  commenpant 
par  la  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  pai  la 
darniAre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration,  soit  par  la  second 
plat,  salon  la  cas.  Tous  les  autras  exemplairas 
originaux  sont  filmAs  en  commen^ant  par  la 
premiAre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  derniAre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  -^  (meaning  "CON 
TINUED'  ),  or  the  symbol  V  (meaning   "END  "), 
whichever  applies. 


Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
darniire  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas   le  symbole  — ^-  signifie  "A  SUIVRE  ",  le 
symbole  V  signifie  "FIN". 


Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  har.d  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  Atre 
filmAs  A  des  taux  de  reduction  diffArents 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  Atre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clichA,  il  est  filmA  A  partir 
de  Tangle  supArieur  gauche,  de  gauche  A  droite. 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenint  le  nombre 
d'images  nAcessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  mAthode 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

NVv' 
B  AT  3 


!5    p, 

;   I. 


i 


r»     > 


^^ 


■9; 


.„  'w>-i^    . .  '. — rs7 


i 


4' 


EARLY  MIGRATIONS. 


PROVINCIAL  UmJWYi 

vicTOBJA,  a  4 

'ANESE  Wrecks 


STRANDED  AND  PICKED  UP  ADRIFT 


^kW*^ 


IN   THK 


NORTH  PACIFIC 


OCEAN, 


ETHNOLOGICALLY   CONSIDERED. 


BT 


CIIARLKS  WOLCOTT  BK    OKS. 


SAN    FRANCISCO,  CALIFORNIA: 

Re-printed  lh>in  the  Proceedings  of  the  CalHbrrtia  Academy  of  Scienctt. 
•  1876. 


^ 


eyyozt/uvest 
CoUectiorv 


Tr<^ 


\ 


i^  ,iAr  A^.•ef5r    ^vwecx'' 


OUTLINE  MAP  OF   THE   NORTH 

Showing  the  Distribution  of  Disablnd  Japanese  iunlcs  by  Winds  and  Currents;  als 

as  corrected  by  the  Observations  and  Investigations  of  Pro< 


DRAWN      BY     CHARLES     WOi-COTT      BROOKS. 


THE   KORTH   PACIFIC   OCEAN, 

Indt  and  Currents;  also  Direction  of  the  Kuro  Shiwo,  or  Japanese  Warm  Stream, 
I  Investigations  of  Professor  Qeorge  Davidson,  U.  S.  C.  8. 


+  JAPANESE      ^VRECK'-, 


Showing  the  Distributinr.  of  D 

as  oorre 


CMJFnilNIA  ftCMlEMY  OF  SCIENCES. 


i 


1 


1 


JAPAN  i:SK    W'KI'CKS, 


KlHANDKn  AND  I'H'KKh  \  V  ADUIl'l 


IN   THK 


NORTH    PACIFIC    OCEAN, 


K/ril\()L(M:i('AM,V     CONSIDKIU-:!). 


AS 


I'^iirn  iwli  i  iitr   I'-viili-iuM-  «>r  >i  coiiMliiiit   iiiruMioii  of  •Iiipmid'hh' 
lilootl  tiitioiii;  I  h«'  CJomhI   'l'ril>«'H  «>r   N'orl  h  nnhnIi-i'ii 

I ikI iaiiM. 


BT 


rilAHLKS  WOLCOTT  P»n()OKS, 

MiiiiImt  <>r   llie  (JiiUfuriilii  Acmldiiy  (if  ScloiiceH;   K\-('imniil  I'l'  .lB))iin  for  Cnliroriilii; 
mill  Attaclii'  of  till'  'lH|iHiii'Kt'  ImiiI>»sn}'  (•>  tiM««<ii  TriHty  I'uwi tk,  1)>7I  Tl-l,i, 


Renil    be!   II   •  tlio  Ciil  ifopn  in    Ai-^itl.-my  ol' Si.-ioiK.'Os,  iit   llicir  Mot't  i  i  m, 

Marcili   Kt.   1878. 


SAN    I'KANUISCO,   CAMIOKNU: 

I'riiitiil  liy  tlif  Aciiili  my. 
IbTC. 


PROVINCIAL  LIBRARY, 
VICTORIA,  B.  C. 


Wof> 


£ 


INTRODUCTION. 


As  iiafnrc  is  a  iincliuiisiii  \vlio«c  |mrts  im-  iiitiiuatcly  assooiatcd.  so  all  work 
has  its  colalxiriis.  [  am  iiidi'litcil  to  niaiiv  kind  frifiuls  for  their  co-oiiit- 
;itii)ii  ami  ussistaiici'  in  verifying  llic  particulars  of  iiiilividiial  ouscs.  Tiir 
(•ullf'tiiin,  as  a  wliolr,  is  cntiridy  my  own,  and  has  l)i<'n  |inpj,'rt'ssiiif4  siiicr 
Miircii,  lis.").!,  when  at  sea  ott'the  cu.ii-t  of  Japan  I  lirst  tV'U  in  with  tln'  \\at(r- 
loj,'^'  (1  wn ck  (if  a  junk. 

In  issuing  this  reprint  of  ,i  papi  r  piildished  in  the  rroeeedin^s  of  the  Cah- 
fiirnia  Acadeniy  of  Seii  iices.  no  unr  ran  he  mure  aware  than  ni\seif.  nf  how 
null  li  i-i  left  undone:  Imt  I  mnst  in  Irankness  say,  that  thus  far  the  edihcliMn 
I'f  exact  ]i.irticnhiis  has  involwd  a  voliiminons  cnrresponiiene.  .  and  lieen  in- 
<liistri(nisly  prosi  end  d.  in  s)iitc  of  L;reat  ditlicnitii  s,  icildnof  ilist.ince) ;  and 
iiad  1  awaited  Inulilain  |ierle(t  euMjpietencss.  tiiis  piihliealion  would  have 
liei  II  indetinitely  JiDstpntleil. 

I5y  eallinL;  attention  to  material  aln  ady  in  hanil.  I  hope  other  ease-,  may  he 
•  •■•oujiht  to  linht.  anil  thns  a  chiin  <i(  evi<l(  la-e  lieeomi'  estiihlished,  whii  h 
shall  point  to  hidden  laws,  underlyin'^  the  ethn  'loj,'ieal  as  well  as  phy-,ical 
conditions  here  picsented. 

With  each  step  in  the  ]U'0^;ress  nf  the-i'  inVestlv,Mlicins.  I  have  lieen  deeply 
impressed  how  largely  liiis  list  is  eapilile  of  lieiuf^  increased,  hy  studious  and 
system.itic  starch  throuj^li  all  the  an<'ieut  literature,  rtlatin^'  to  countries 
whose  shores  are   washed  hv  the  Noitli  I'acitic  (teean. 

In  the  aim  to  exercise  especial  care,  where  )iartial  di-;cre]iancies  were  found 
to  exist,  'he  version  which,  after  dilij^ent  examination,  ap[iiars  to  mc 
most  relialile.  has  lieen  ailopted,  Itepurts  of  Jaiiancse  wrecks  nut  here  enum- 
erated, (ir  any  well  auilienticated  curreclioiis  to  this  |i>.|,  will,  if  addressed  to 
CnARLKs  Woi.<'irr  ItunoKs.  care  of  .Jaiianese  Cunsnlate.  San  Francisco,  Cali- 
foinia,  lie  thankfully  leceived,  mid  posted  in  the  otHcial  record  hook,  access- 
ilile  to  :dl  fur  future  ii'terfnce. 

Anion;,'  tlmse  wluist^  kind  co-nperatioii  1  take  pl.asiiie  in  a(^knowlcd^inf», 
are;  Their  Excellencies  the  Ministers  of  J''oreii,'n  .Mfairs  of  .Japan;  His  Excel- 
lency Kats  .\va,  H.  1.  J.  M.  Minister  of  Marine;  His  Hxcellency  Ilirohiimi 
Ito,  H.  I.  .1.  M.  Minister  of  I'ulijic  Works:  Nakahama  Maiijiro;  Fiiku/awa 
I'kitchy,  now  one  ,if  the  most  advanced  literary  men  of  .lapaii;  Yoshinari 
Ilatakeyama,  A.  M.,  one  of  their  rijiest  scholars,  and  head  of  the  Imperial 
(  olleee  at  Tokio;  and  especially  to  my  former  I'olleiigue  and  present  suc- 
cessor, Sainro  Takaki,  to  whom  I  am  largely  indehteil  for  many  valiiahle 
translations  and  researches  into  otlicial  records;  to  I'rofessor  (icori^'c  David- 
son. United  States  Coast  Survey,  for  ndialde  iiifoinialion  reK.irdiii),'  the  (iliys- 
ical  features  of  thf  Kiiro  Sliiwo;  and  to  memhers  of  the  Academy  for  their 
kind  apjiri'ciation  f)f  ih.e  important  of  the  work  undertaken. 

C,  W.   B. 
8an  FbancI8c:o,  0(  r.   1,  ]h~C>.    ■ 


£ 


I 


R  K  P»  O  H  T 


OF 


JAPAN  ESE   VESSELS 


WRECKED  IN  THE  NORTH  rACIITC  OCEAN 


FKOM   TUG 


EARLIEST  RECORDS  TO  ^THE  PRESENT  TIME. 


Every  junk  found  lulrift  or  straiuliul  on  the  const  of  North  Aiuerieii,  or  on 
the  Huwuiiiin  or  iidjiicent  islands,  hiis  on  cxitniinution  proved  to  hf  .TuimiicHe, 
and  no  siuKle  iustauei;  of  any  Chiiu-se  vesstl  has  ever  been  reported,  nor  is 
any  beheved  to  have  existed. 

This  may  be  explained  by  the  existence  of  the  Kiiro  Shiwo,  lit<  rally  "  black 
stream,"  a  t,'ulf  stream  of  warm  water,  which  sweeps  northeasterly  past  -laiiaii 
toward  the  Kurile  and  Aleutian  Islands,  thence  i^urvint,'  around  and  passin),' 
south  alon^  the  coast  of  Alaska,  Ore^,'on  and  California.  This  stream,  it  is 
found,  has  swept  these  junks  toward  .\merica  at  an  average  rate  of  fully 
ten  miles  a  day. 

There  also  exists  an  ocean  stn^am  of  cold  water,  emerj,'ini.;  from  the  Arctic 
Ocean,  which  sets  south  close  in  along  the  eastern  coast  of  Asia.  Tliis  fully 
accounts  for  the  absence  of  Chine-e  junks  on  the  Tacitic,  as  vessels  disabled 
oflf  their  coast  would  naturally  drift  southward. 

A  noticeable  feature  is  the  large  number  of  disasters  on  the  coast  of  Japan 
in  the  month  of  Jamiary,  during  which  season  the  strong  northeast  monsoons 
blow  the  wrecks  directly  off  shore  into  tin   Kuro  Shiwo. 

The  climate  of  Japan  is  temperate,  with  the'  exception  of  the  extr< me  north- 
ern provinces,  where  intense  cold  prevails  and  where  snow  is  abundant;  and 
the  oxtrelne  southern  provinces,  whose  climate  is  very  warm. 

About  the  year  UVMi  the  Japanese  (iovernnient  orden.'d  all  junks  to  be  built 
with  open  steins,  and  large  square  rudders,  unfit  for  ocean  navigation,  hoping 


8 


.i.\rANr:sK  wijecks  in  tiim 


thi^ntby  to  kci'p  ilnir  imojjIc-  iH()lut('(l  witliiu  tin  ir  .'wn  islimdH.  Once  foiccil 
frmii  the  coast  by  stress  i>f  \vt'iitlit?r,  tin  Sf  rniMtrs  iiic  souii  washed  away, 
will  a  the  vesM'is  naturally  fall  oH  into  the  tronj,'h  nf  the  sea,  ami  rull  their 
masts  (lilt.  The  niiniher.  of  which  no  recunl  exists,  which  have  thus  siitVt  red 
(luring  the  past  ninelein  centuries  must  he  veiy  larL,'e.  pruliaMy  many 
thiiusand  vessels. 

.\miin({  -lapanese  mariners,  the  fiiir  of  heini;  thus  Mown  otV  lie  ir  coast,  has 
been  an  ever-threateiiinj,'  danj^er:  and  the  memory  of  such  time-honored 
accidents,  is  a  common  feature  in  the  traditions  of  everv  sea|iort  settlement 
iilon^  th(>  caNtern  coast  of  Japan. 

Hy  the  ("lovcrnmeiit  Census,  taken  ill  Ih7l,  the  total  population  of  . I ajiaii 
was  ;{ll,;jU0,()7")  souls,  and  there  wire.2'J,<>7(i  rej^istired  sailiiiL;  vessels  of  .lap- 
auesc  style,  (junks)  of  from  H  to  :<h;|  tons,  enyaned  in  the  coasting'  trade. 
Tlu'  crews  of  ordinary  Iradiii;;  junks  averaujc  from  eitjlit  to  twelve  lui-n  each. 

Jn  the  sixteenth  year  of  th<'  ni^n  of  the  Empe.ir  Siii/in,  l>.  C.  81, 
mnrchant  ships  and  Hhi)>s  of  war  are  first  spoken  of  as  built  in  -lapan. 

Under  the  Sho^oon  lyeinitsu.  abonl  l';:i'.l,  edielscouimanded  the  destruction 
of  all  boats  built  ujion  any  forei^;n  model,  and  toibadc  Ihe  buildino  of  vessels 
of  any  size  or  shape  8U|)erior  to  that  of  the  present  jiiMk. 

Hy  the  imperial  decree  of  \>'<'M.  .lapaiesi  who  had  left  llieir  country  anil 
been  abroad,  were  mit  allowi'd  to  return,  death  biiuj,'  the  penalty  tor  Iravelin^^ 
abroad,  stinlying  fcreis^n  langua^^es,  intrciduciie.;  foreij^'u  customs,  or  belicvino 
in  Chrisiiaiiity. 

The  iMMpire  of  Japan  is  situalecl  in  the  noilhwesteni  put  of  the  Pacific 
Onean,  and  is  composed  of  four  larj^e  islands  anil  of  a  ^;rl  it  imniber  of  smaller 
ones.  It  faces  to  the  northwi'St  the  Kiiif^doMi  ■>;  t  ,,  la,  and  is  sejiarated  from 
it  by  the  Japan  sea.  To  tli<' ii'rtliea^l  ^}ip  iirehipi'laj^o  ot  (liijima  i  Kurile 
Islands)  extends  towards  Kamschatka.  At  liie  southwest  tin  [,iu  Kin  Islands 
are   situated  ojijiosito  the  Island  of  Formosa. 

Its  whole  leiiLjth.  exteiidin^i  from  one  (lid  to  the  other  <■'  ♦'•e  i  lupire,  meas- 
nres  more  than  WO  His  (about  1225  En<^lish  niilesK  am.  ii>  breadth  varies 
from  'Jll  to  no  IJis  (about  TH'^  to  llO  EnL;lish  mil.  s.  i  Its  total  area  is  •_':!, 7J0 
Sipiare  lUs. 

The  sources  of  information  at  command  have  been  exceptionally  f;ood. 
DuriiiR  seventeen  years,  in  which  1  represented  the  (iovcM'nment  of  Japan  at 
this  ])ort.  it  has  been  my  pleasure  to  ih^voti'  much  critical  attention  to  the 
subject  of  Japanese  wreirks,  picked  up  adrift  in  the  North  Pacific  Ocean  and 
stranded  upon  the  northwest  coast  of  .Vmerica  and  its  various  outlying 
islands,  and  thosi'  of  the  chain  extendinj,'  from  Hawaii  towards  Nij)hon, 
Hesides  keeping'  a  detailed  record  of  all  wrecks  reported  duriiiL;  this  period,  I 
have  also  collected  and  verified  many  cases  of  earlier  reports,  which  althoU{,'h 
still  extant,  were  likely  to  be  overlooked. 

lu  at  least  37  of  the  cases  ijiiofed,  I  have  either  seen  the  saved,  or  received 
a  personal  account  from  those  who  were  themselves  witnesses.  Hawaiian 
and  Japanese  traditions  I  have  myself  ^jathered  in  those  countries. 

In  March.  1H(!0,  I  took  an  Indian  boy  on  board  the  Jajiaiiese  steam  corvette 
Ivinriii-iiKtrii,  whore  a  comparison  of  Coast-Indian  and  puri'  Japanese  words 
was  made  at  my  request,  by  Fukuzawa  Ukitchy,  then  Admiral's  Secretary; 


NOinn    PACIFIC    OCKAN. 


the  rusult  of  whicli  I  jnf]>air(l  fur  tlic  i)ri'>->   iitiil  it  was  at  llmt  liiiic  juiIiIihIu'iI 
in  the  Kn n'lini  llidlcthi.  Him^iiHthm  fnrtlit  r  liii>^iii>ti('  iIlV('^lil;lltil>ll. 

Tilt'  folldwin^;  cxaiiiplcK  snljinittiil  for  f(iiisiiliriiti'):i  to  tin  Acailriny.  fairly 
illustrate  tlic  sul>jii't  in  its  various  )ihartts. — 

I.  In  Mr.  lluliirt  II.  Hancroffs  iin]iaiallt'l<Ml  culUctiKii  uf  ancient  Ixmks 
ami  valualile  iiiaii\iscri|its  lelatinf,'  to  the  <'arly  history  of  tin-  nalivi'  rae<'s  of 
the  Pacific  States,  nientioii  is  niaile  of  several  Japanese  vessels  ri  porteil  in 
some  of  the  Spanish-.Vniericaii  ports  on  the  Pacific  In  ItllT  a  ■lapanese  junk 
hejon^'iiif^  to  Ma^;oiiii',  was  ,it  .\ca))iilco. 

In  llilH,  .liine  10th,  the  British  ship  ('Inn,  t'npt.  .(nhii  Saris,  .arri veil  at 
Na^'asaki,  haviiiL;  ol'  hoiinl  one  •lapalii-se,  jiickiil  up  troiu  the  island  of 
liantaiii. 

"2.  "  III  l(lsr>."  we  read,  "  the  Portuguese  trieil  fur  the  last  time  to  re-CH- 
tablish  their  trmle  hy  seiidillj,'  hack  a  nilliihi'r  of  shi])\vreckecl  Jai'.aiiese. 
picked  u]i  adrift,  tn  their  own  country.  The  •lapaiiose  did  not  molei.t  them, 
hut  strictly  prohihited  their  re-aj)peiirance  ou  tho  Coast  of  Japan." 

:{.  In  Kl'.t I.  a  Japanese  junk  from  <  )saka  was  driven  by  adverse  winds 
anil  weather  and  strainled  on  the  coast  of  Kamschatka,  at  the  mouth  of  tln^ 
river  (Ipala.  on  the  south  of  Holschaia  Ueka.  Tin:  only  sui\ivor  was  altcr- 
wards  taken  to  Moscow. 

Muller.  ill  his  "  V'oya^'e-i  from  .Vsia  to  .Viiiiriea."  piihlished  in  17(11.  re- 
marks that  when  in  Ki'.Ml  th(!  llnssians  reported  the  above,  they  said:  "wo 
have  learned  of  several  other  instances  of  Japanese  wrecks  previf)usly  strand- 
ed on  the  coast  of  Kamschatka." 

t.  ft;  ITin,  a  Japanese  junk  was  stranded  on  the  coast  of  Kamschatka,  in 
KaliHiiian  bay,  imrth  of  .Vwatscha.  Ten  persons  landed  safely,  of  which  four 
were  killed  ami  six  taken  captive  in  an  (encounter  with  Kaiiischadels.  Siibse- 
ipiently  four  of  the  captives  fell  into  llussiau  hands,  and  one  named  Saiiima, 
was  sent  in  171 1  to  St.  Potonsburf;. 

5.  Ou  the  Hih  of  July,  172'J,  a  Japanese  junk  called  the  Wii/.n-slihini  of 
Satsuma.  in  distr(^ss,  after  haviiit^  been  driven  ab  lut  at  sea  fur  six  months, 
was  liually  stranded  on  the  coast  of  Kamschatka,  south  of  Awatsdia  bay.  and 
17  of  her  crew  were  saved.  She  was  loaded  witli  cotton  and  silk  stuffs, 
rice  and  paper;  the  two  latter  articles  shipjied  by  Matxiiilnlrn  Osuiiii-iin-hdiii, 
(I'rince  of  Satsuma)  were  (government  j)roperty. 

A  petty  Russian  oflfieer  named  Schtinnikow,  desirinp  to  ])lunder  the  car^o, 
had  fifteen  of  the  survivors  shot ;  for  whi<'h  crime  he  was  subseipieiitly  <'on- 
deinned  and  hun;,'.  The  two  remaining;,  an  old  merchant  named  Sosa  and  a 
young  pilot  (ronsa,  were  sent  to  Irkutz  in  1721,  and  thence  via  Tobolsk,  they 
reached  St.  PetersburL'  in  ]7.'t"2,  whi're  one  died  in  M'M't.  the  other  in  17.'l!l. 

<1.  In  17H'i  a  Japanese  junk  was  wrecked  ui)nn  the  .Meutiaii  lslan<ls,  from 
which  the  survivors  were  taken  in  one  of  the  ltiissian-.\mericaii  ("oni- 
|)any's  vessels  to  the  town  of  Ochotsk,  and  thence  to  the  inland  city  of  Ir- 
kutsk. In  17'.l'2.  the  Governor-tieneral  of  Siberia  ordered  the  transport  <  ulh- 
irine,  tlien  at  Ochotsk,  to  return  these  men  to  their  native  country.  The 
Russian  vessel,  after  wintering  in  a  harbor  at  the  north  end  of  Yeso,  pro- 
ceeded to  the  port  of  Hakodate,   where  the  Japanese  officials  politely  but 


10 


JAl'ANESK    WWECKS    IN    TlIK 


tirinly  refused  tu  jllow  their  countryinoa  to  land.     They  were  suhseqiiently 
rctiiniol  to  Siberia. 

7.  AIlloll^^  ittiiis  of  liistory  mentioned  in  Japiincse  records,  I  lind  that  iu 
Oetohcr,  1S(»1,  H  lluKsJan  frieiito  commanded  hy  (;a])t.  KriiHinstern,  convtying 
Coniil  Hfsanoflf,  as  Aiiihiissinior  of  the  C/.nr,  broiit»ht  lia;'k  to  Na^jasaki  five 
•lapancsf  seamen,  Iwiiif,'  part  of  a  crow  of  lifteen  rescued  from  u  ijtrauded  junk; 
the  other  ten  preferred  to  remain  in  Silteria. 

'<<.  In  \HtC),  a  Japanese  junk  was  wrecked  on  tho  coast  of  Aliiska.  near 
Sitka;  tin-  seamen  w<'re  ((uartered  on  Japonski  Island,  whence  they  were 
taken  hy  the  Uiissians,  and  tinally  lauchd  on  the  Coast  of  Yeso  in  1H0(>. 

!•.  In  lsl2.  ('apt.  Uicord,  cominundinv;  flie  Russian  slooi)-of-war  /linini, 
took  seven  -lapanese,  six  of  whom  were  seamen  recently  shipwrecked  in  a 
junk  on  the  coast  of  Kanischatka,  in  the  hop"  of  exclian^iiig  them  for  seven 
<'aj)live  Itnssiaus,  contineil  in  Ja))an.  Heini»  unahle  to  land,  they  were 
returned  to  Kam.schatka,  reacliint,' there  Octoher  12tli.  Th<'  li'unui  nuide  a 
Hecond  attempt,  and  finally  succeeded  August  Kith,  1H1;1,  in  landing  these 
.lapani'se  at  Kunashie  Hay,  the  '2(tth  Kurile,  and  etfi'cted  the  lilierty  of  the 
Kussiiiii  ('apt.  (iolownin  and  liis  associates. 

Ill,  In  isl.'t.  the  lirig  Furnslir,  Captain  Jolin  Jennings,  when  in  latitude 
■I'.l  N.,  lotigiiude  Pi's  W.,  rescued  the  captain  and  two  seaman  from  a  dis- 
masted junk,  timher  laden,  when  IH  months  from  Yeso,  liound  to  Niplion. 
Thirty-live  men  were  on  board,  of  wiiom  thirty-two  died  of  hunger.  They 
were  delivered  to  the  Russians,  who  undertook  to  return  them  to  Japan. 

11.  Captain  Alexander  Adams,  formerlj'  i)ilot  at  llnnolulti,  relatt^s  thiit 
March  21.  IHl.'i,  in  latitude  :I2t  45' N.,  longitude  121)  Tj?  W..  when  sailing 
master  of  brig  l-'urnslrr.  Captain  I'iggott,  and  cruising  oft"  Santa  Harliara.  Cal- 
ifornia, he  sighted  ut  sunri-e  a  .Japanese  junk  drifting  at  the  mercy  of  the 
winils  and  waves.  Her  rudd<?r  and  masts  were  gone.  Although  blowing  a 
gale,  he  boanled  the  junk,  and  found  fourteen  dead  bodies  in  the  ho' 1,  the 
captain,  carpt^iter,  and  one  seaman  alone  surviving;  took  them  ou  board, 
where  by  careful  nursing  they  were  well  in  a  few  days.  Tlu^y  were  on  a  voj- 
age  from  Os.ika  to  Yedo,  and  were  17  uiouths  out,  hn.viug  been  dismast<'d  iu 
conse(pieuce  of  losing  their  rudder. "  . 

12.  In  1M2I1,  a  junk  was  cast  upon  Point  Adams,  the  southern  shore  of  the 
mouth  of  Columbia  river.  The  vessel,  which  was  laden  with  wax,  went  to 
pieces,  and  the  crew,  nmny  in  number,  landcil  safely. 

III.     A  junk  was  wrecked  on  (^ueeu  Charlotte's  Island,  in  bsUl. 

11.  December  23,  1832,  at  mid-day,  a  junk  in  distress  cast  anchor  near  the 
harbor  of  Waialua.  on  the  shores  of  Oahu.  She  was  from  a  soutliern  port  of 
Japan,  bound  to  Yedo  with  a  cargo  of  lish;  lost  her  rudder  and  was  dism.isted 
in  a  gale,  since  whidi  she  had  drifted  for  eleven  month.s.  Five  out  of  .ler 
crew  of  nine  had  died.  December  .30th,  she  started  for  Hou'iluhi,  but  was 
straniled  on  a  reef  oft'  liarber's  Point  in   the  evening  of  January   1.    \K\'i. 

The  four  survivors  were  taken  to  Honolulu,  where,  after  remaining  eigh- 
teen months,  they  were  forwarded  to  Kamschatka,  whence  tliey  hoped  to 
work  their  way  south  through  the  northern  islands  of  the  group  into  their 
own  country.     This  junk  was  about  80  tons  burden.     According  to  the  tra- 


NORTH    PA(MFIC    OCEAN. 


n 


ditioiiH  of  tbo  islands,  Hoveral  such  junkH  hud  boon  wrocked  upon  Hawaii, 
bcfort'  the  islimds  were  diHcovcred  by  ("iiptain  ("ouk. 

1">.  If).  In  18:iH.  II  Jupitnesi' junk  was  wrecked  dii  lln'  <'u:ist  i>l'  Washington 
Territory,  in  the  ininu  diate  vicinity  of  ( 'ape  I'lattcry.  Manv  of  In  r  crew- 
had  perished,  and  Heverul  dead  bodies  were  found  headed  up  in  tirkiim,  in 
customary  .Tai>an(>se  style,  ready  for  burial.  Out  of  17  persons,  the  only 
survivors,  two  men  and  a  boy,  were  r<>scued  from  the  IndiaiiN.  by  the  Hudson 
Ihiy  ('ompany's  vessel  L'liini,  Captain  McN'eal,  who  took  tliem  to  Kn^land, 
touching  at  Honolulu  on  their  way.  Thence  they  proceeded  to  Canton, 
where  they  arrived  in  \>i'Mi.  and  sti>iii)e<l\vitli  Kurl  Ciul/lall',  who  learned  their 
laiiKuafie,  and  intended  accompanying  them  to  ,lapan.  In  1h;{7,  they  left 
Mai-ao  in  the  .\mericau  brijj  Mnnisdii.  dispiitched  by  Clarence  A.  Kiiijj  for 
Yedo  bay,  to  bt>ar  them    home,     liein^    lireil    upon.  July  27,  and    i)revented 

from   landing',   she  sailed  for  Ka^osima,  where,  bein^    equally   unsu( ssful, 

she  Hnally  n  turned  v^'ith  thi>  men  to  Macao.  The  Murrisuii,  on  whom  Samuel 
\V.  Williams  and  |)r.  Peter  I'.irkev  were  i)assenf;ers,  also  had  on  board  four 
other  Japanese  s*-amen,  lescucd  from  a   disabled  .la|>anese  junk,    whicii  had 

drifti'd  a  lonf?  time  at  sea,  until  finally  stranded  on   th i.stern   shore  of  the 

l*hiliiii)ine  Islands,  whence  tlu'  survivors  were  forwardi-d  to  Macao,  to  be  re- 
turned to  Jiipiin. 

17.     In   IH.'l'.t,  a   wrecked  junk  was  hoarded  by  ('a]>tain   Cathcart   of  the 
American  whale  ship  .luiinn  Luinr.  drifting;  in  latitu<le  lid    X..  loii)^'itudi'  171 
W.,  or  about  half  way  between  Japan  and  the  Hawaiian  Islands. 

IM.  In  the  /'((////-«. mV(/i,  October  17,  liSlO.  pidilished  at  Honolulu,  I  lind: 
"  The  Japanese  who  took  pasKaf.{e  in  the  llnrliiiitin  remained  at  Kamscliatka 
under  the  protection  of  the  Governor  awaitiu^  an  opportunity  of  returning  to 
their  native  country." 

NoTK. — In  1834,  the  brif^  UurlKpiiu  conveyed  to  Petropanlski  from  Hon- 
olulu 18  Japanese  taken  from  wrecks,  who  had  remained  IH  months  at  Hon- 
olulu.    They  were  finally  returned  to  Japan  by  Russian  otficials. 

In  184i),  y[\\  Natliani«I  Savory,  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  residin^^  at  Port 
Lloyd.  Honin  Islands,  rei)orts  a  Japanese  junk  of  about  40  tons,  laden  with 
dried  fish,  entered  tiiat  harbfu-  in  distress,  havin;^'  been  driven  from  her  course 
along  the  coast  of  Japan  through  stress  of  weather,  with  her  ])rovisi(>ng  ex- 
hausted. They  repaired  the  damage  to  the  junk  during  that  winter,  and  slie 
sailed  in  the  spring  for  Japan.  Had  these  islands  been  uninhabited,  this 
case  would  have  added  another  to  the  list  of  wrecks. 

10.  In  1841,  a  fishing  junk  from  the  southeast  part  of  Niphon  was  wrecked 
on  an  uninhabited  island,  where  the  three  survivors  remained  six  monthH, 
until  taken  off  by  Captain  Whitfield,  master  of  the  American  whale  ship  .lulm 
flinrldiiil,  and  brought  to  Honolulu,  where  Denzo  and  Ooemoii  remained, 
while  Nakahama  Manjiro  went  to  the  United  States,  and  was  educated  by 
Captain  Whitfield.  After  being  there  several  years  he  returned  to  Honolulu 
where  he  found  his  former  companions,  and  embarked  January,  IH.'d,  ou  tl-.e 
S'lnih  li'iyil.  Captain  Whitmore,  bound  for  Shanghai,  taking  with  them  a 
whale-boat  called  the  Advuntnrf,  with  a  full  rig  and  outfit.  Win  ii  off  the 
Grand  Liu-Kiu,  the  three  Japanese  effected  a  landing  and  tlie  ship  proceeded 
without  stopping     Hence  they  flmdly  reached  Kiushiu  and  Nagasaki,  in  the 


k 


I 


i 


IJ.  JAPANESE    WKECKS    IN    THE 

junk  whi'li  1)1  iirs  tlir  imnuul  tribute  money  from  Liu-Kiu  to  Jiiixiii.  Man- 
jiro  aftcrwiirds  tniiisliiti'd  Howilitcirs  Navifjiitor  into  Jupiint'Si'.  ami  viHitid 
Sun  FriUR'isco  us  sailiiij^-miistcr  nt' tlio  Jiipiim'sc  stoiiui  cnrvuttf  Kniivui-iiutrK. 
\vlii<'h  iirrivcd  tlicii'  Murcli  17tli,  IMiiO. 

•^i».  In  ls|.",,  111,.  Unit.Ml  Stairs  Fri^at(!  SI.  I.mti-i  took  from  Mfxico  to  Niiif,'- 
1"),  in  <'liinii,  tlirt'c  sliipwrci^k  .liiiiaucsc,  bc'in^;  survivors  of  the  crew  of  a  jinik 
which  had  driftcil  t'ri)ni  the  const  of  Jupau,  entirely  acroHs  the  Pncitic  Ocean, 
and  tinaily  siraiidi-d  on  tlif  cuast  of  Mixlcu.  where  tin  y  n-niainid  two  years. 
'I'lie  Cliinese  a  III  111  irjl  ies  Were  willin;^  1(1  receive  these  men  and  return  them  to 
their  native  country  by  liieir  annual, junk,  which  niiils  frmii  ('heifixi  to  Naj^a- 
saki;  bill  the  .la]iaiiese  ubiiciid  Id  tlieir  landinL;,  nwin^,'  to  the  law  ><{  Ui;(7. 

In  IM"i,  tlie  .l.ipaiicse  aiithoiities  iiiforined  Sir  l'".dwiird  lleleher,  conimanil- 
in^  II.K.S.  .'xiiKiirniiii.  that  tiiey  would  nut  receive  returned  •bi|>iinese  from 
abroad,  but  "had  sent  a  junk-lull  back  to  the  I'.mperor  <>(  China,"  t"  whose 
country  tiny  had  eoiic  to  obtain  return  jmssa^es  by  the  annual  juid<  jierniitfcd 
froni  Cheefoii  to  Niij,'usaki.  The  above  leads  to  fhe  inference  that  tlie 
Siiiiiiirnii'i  nuiy  have  had  shipwrecked  .la]iam'sc  seamen  on  board. 

'Jl.  In  lx|").  .\pril  1st,  ('aptain  Mercator  Cooper,  of  Sa'.,'  Ilarbnr,  wlieii  in 
the  .Viiieriian  while  ship  Mniiliiilliin.  resciieil  ch'veii  shiiiwrecked  .lapanese 
niiiriners  linin  St.  I'e|ei>,  a  small  island  lyin^'  a  few  dcj^rees  southeast  of  Nip- 
lion,  and  took  them  to  Yedo  Hay.  where  tin  y  were  received  under  ixcipiinn. 
('a]ituin  CiMipi  i- is  ,dsii  re]niiteil  to  have  I'allen  in  with  a  sinkinjj  junk,  I'luiii 
vhicli  he  rcMMied  iis  many  nniie  Ja|iaiii  se  sialinii.  [See  Dr.  ('.  F.  Winslow's 
••count  in  Fihiiil  of  Fibruary  "Jd,  IMt'i.J 

22  In  1HI7,  a  French  whalcship  while  cruising  ofi'  Stapletoii  Island, 
sit,'hted  a  fire-signal  un  the  >hore,  and  sent  ii  boat  t<>  tlii'  relief  of  live  Ja]mnese 
sailiirs.  who  were  in  a  helpless  plitiht:  the  only  survivors  of  a  crew,  whose  dis- 
abled junk  lay  stranded  on  th<!  beach  of  a  small  Vmy.  Later,  alKuit  lN5:t,  a 
jiarty  of  otticers  fnuii  the  I'.  S.  steam  frigate  ></>(///« /iroc»»  landed  and  sur- 
veyed this  wreck,  which  they  then  described  as  "still  [mitly  kept  t(if,'Ptlier  by 
lar^,'e  nails  of  cupper,  and  portions  of  sheets  nf  metal.  Her  planks,  fastened 
together  at  the  edgi',  were  but  little  rubbed  or  decayed." 

2;}.  In  l^ilT,  April  21st,  thi'  JJremen  ship  otnlnilf,  Cai)taiii  Weitung,  when 
in  lat.  '.i'>  N.,  long.  \'>C>  E.,  fi'll  in  with  a  .laimnesc  junk  in  ilistress,  which 
had  lost  her  rudder  and  had  been  driven  off  the  coast  of  .laiian  in  a  gale  No- 
vember, 1H|(>,  and  had  drifted  live  months.  Took  oft'  the  crew,  consisting  of 
nine  men.  also  six  tons  of  wax.  She  was  about  HO  tuns  biirdi  n  and  chietlj'  lad- 
en with  paper  belonging  to  Osaka,  and  liound  north,  (aptain  Weitung  kept 
them  on  lioard  f(nir  weeks,  and  May  l!(fh,  1847,  put  them  on  hoard  a  junk  in 
the  Straits  of  Matsniai.  [See  l'iilt/,i<siiiii,  October  17.  1SI7,  and  Fr'n ml,  Dec- 
ember 2,  1817.] 

21.  In  1818,  Captain  Cox  of  New  Loudon,  Conn.,  picked  up  fifteen  nf 
twenty  ■lajMinese  seamen  from  a  disabled  junk  in  lat.  40  N.,  loiig.  170  W., 
and  ke])t  them  on  board  six  months  during  a  cruise  in  the  Ochotsk  si  a,  and 
tinaily  landed  them  at  Lahaina,  where  they  remained  six  or  eight  months. 

2").  In  IH.")!).  during  thi'  autumn,  S.  Seiitharo,  Toro  and  •!.  Heco — the  lat- 
ter then  ageil  l.'t  years — left  Osaka  in  a  junk  for  Yedo.  After  discharging 
and  reloading  they  started  to  return  via  Woragawa.     After  leaving  the  latter 


NORTH    PACIFIC   OCEAN. 


18 


place  their  nidiier  wns  (liHu)ilf(l  iiDil  they  li>st  tlit'ir  uiast  iimi  liiitlttl  out  to 
sfii  Fifty  tluys  liitir  tlii'  wrcfk  whs  fiillcii  in  witli  by  the  AiiiiTii'iin  Imrk  .l"A- 
/''«'/,  Cuptiiiii  Jti',niiij,'s,  wild  took  ntl'  luut  hi'mi^ht  the  cn-w  of  17  iirisoiis  to 
Siiii  Friiiicisoo,  ill  Filnuary.  lfS."il.  Tiny  were  iiiiurtcrcil  nii  liounl  tli<'  l'.  S. 
rcveiuie  cutter,  and  i-iirtd  for  by  oidft  of  the  t'ollet-tor  of  the  I'ort.  Our  citi- 
zens 1,'fiierully  tuok  luiich  ititcri'st  in  thiMn.  Tlu'  Japaiii'se  were  sul)S(i|iiiiitly 
(iiiliaikcil  oil  till'  I  .  S.  sloop  >/.  .l/.nw/'.s  and  convtycil  '  i  lloii^koii^',  wlnrc 
I">  were  transferred  to  the  U.  8.  steamer  Susiiio  liinniit  to  await  tln'  arrival  of 
Commodore  I'erry  and  his  expe<lition.  Hero  and  the  Hecoiid  mat",  'i'oro,  .e- 
tnriied  to  San  Francisco  on  tlie  hark  Siinih  lldn/iir,  reaching  there  in  the 
autumn  of  1H."(2.  Seutharo  returned  with  Itev.  Mr.  (rolile,  from  San  FihiI- 
ciseo  to  i)ai)an,  and  also  Toro  returned  in  the  American  hark  Mil'itu  to  llako- 
di'te  from  San  I'rancisco,  via  Honolulu,  Ajuil  I'l,  iMoll. 

Toro  was  for  a  wliilr  cli-rk  with  Wells,  Far^o  «V  Co.,  and  Joseph  Heco, 
clerk  with  .Macondr.ijr  A'  Co.  Ueco  was  sulise((iieutly  appointed  for  duty  on 
the  United  States  Survewng  Schooner  Fimiiiiiore,  i'iM>i>ir,  ahout  i!S.")S-ri!l,  and 
left  her  at  Honolulu,  on  account  of  sickness,  hut  finally  returne<l  to  Yedo.  (Ui 
the  l.'nited  States  steamer  .1/ i.sM'»i/i//i.      [See  F.ii  n'linj  llnllitiK,  ■luiie,  iNli'J.  | 

•2tl.  In  iK.'iO,  April  22il,  in  hit.  t"!  \.  long.  1")">  E.,  the  American  whale 
ship  ll'iirii  h'lii'liiKil.  Clark,  master,  fell  in  with  a  .lapanese  junk  having'  lit 
persuus  on  board.  The  vessel  left  Yedo  for  Kuno,  l)ut  lost  her  rinlder  and 
was  disniaated;  then  drifted  to  sea,  an<l  had  been  at  the  mercy  of  the  winds 
and  curients  for  sixty-six  ilays,  (hiring,'  forty  of  which  they  had  subsisted  on 
lish  and  snow  water.  The  Captain  and  two  seamen  came  to  Honolulu  on  the 
//.  A'..-  two  of  the  crew  were  transferred  to  the  M'lniiiin;  six  were  taken  to 
i'e'ropaulski  and  taken  charj^e  of  by  the  llussian  authi>rities,  ami  two  came 
to  Honolulu  by  the  .\  ininnl.  [See  h'niinl,  October  I'l,  lH.")();  also  Friinil, 
November  1,  1850.] 

NoTK.  -In  bS,">l,  by  .Iapa»:ei»e  records  I  find  that  five  Japanese  seamen  from 
Honolulu  via  China  arrived  at  Na.;asaki-- probably  the  above. 


27.  Ill  IH.'fl,  a  Japanese  junk  was  cast  away  upon  Atka  Island,  and  only 
three  of  the  crew  survived. 

28.  In  iH.rJ,  April  loth,  in  hit.  31  N.,  hui;,'.  l.Ml  E.,  about  .'{(Kt  miles  N. 
N.  E.  of  (iuam.  Captain  AVest,  in  the  American  whaleship  Isimr  IIhh-IhikI, 
fell  iu  with  a  small  Japanese  junk  in  ballast.  The  four  men  on  board  had 
but  a  little  oil  to  sustain  life,  and  were  much  emaciated.  Tlnir  tiller  was 
lashed,  and  the  vessel  having'  been  forty-nine  days  out  of  their  reckt)iiinj,',  the 
crew  had  (,'iven  themselves  up  to  die.  Two  of  these  men  Captain  West  took 
to  the  Atlantic  States,  and  two  were  transferreil  to  an  American  whaler  ubont 
to  cruise  in  the  vici-iity  of  the  Japanese  Islands. 

2"J.     In  March,  1X5;},  the  American  ship./o/oi  'iiljiin,  Captain  Doane,  passed 
a  watcr-logj,'ed  wreck  of  a  junk,  ht-r  deck  awash   with   the  water,  in  hit.  18 
— '  N.,  lonj,'.  lb")    — ■  E.,   just  beyond   I'a^'an   and   Griyan    Islands.     Large 
numbers  of  fish  were  around  the  wreck.     There  were  no  survivors  on  board. 
She  had  every  appearance  of  having  been  a  very  long  time  in  the  water. 

30.  In  1853,  Captain  C.  M.  Scaminon  discovered  the  wrt-ck  of  a  Japanese 
junk,  on  the  southwest  or  largest  of  the  San  Bonito  group  of  Islands,  off 


14 


JAI'ANKSK    WRECKS    IN   THE 


Lower  Ciiliforniii,  in  Int.  2S    N.,  long,  llfl  '  W.,  and  nearf 'eilros  Inland.    [See 
All>i.  April  ■2-2,  INCO.l 

llir  iiliiiikH  w«  ri'  CiiMtciicil  to(,'<'tbfr  6u  thf  edf^en  with  HpikeH  or  Imltsof  ii  tint 
kIiujm  .  with  all  of  till-  lull,!  (Ill  one  side.  The  HenniH  were  not  quite  stnii^ht, 
iillhipuj-'li  llif  wiprkiiiiiiiMliip  o.'lu-rwiHo  whh  ^jood.  Thiit  portion  of  the  wreck  in 
Hij^lit,  w.i'^  priiii'ipiilly  tin.-  bottom  of  (he  vessel,  itiid  f,'iive  evidiiiee  of  having 
lieeii  Ii  louK  time  on  shore.     [Kxtriict  from  Cuptiiin  Sciimuion'H  lo^.] 

:tl.  In  l^^'d.  .\iiguHt  1  Ifh,  just  after  Coniniodore  Perry's  <lepartiire,  the 
American  ship  l.nili/  I'inir,  (,'aptiiin  liurrows,  arrived  at  Siinoda  from  Sun 
Francisco  via  Honolulu  June  2,  1«54.  She  returned Dijonoske  to  Japan,  who 
was  the  sole  survivor  of  a  crew  of  fifteen  men,  and  was  jiicked  (  tt'  from  a 
drifting  junk  near  the  Hawaiian  Tshiiids,  after  being  He veu  months  helpleNs 
at  Hen.     Ue  had  reHided  Home  time  in  San  FranciMco. 

\\i.     In  iNo"),  ('a])taiii  Hiooks,  in  American  brig  l.irii-i'tt,  which  arrived  hor 
from  Ajaii,  Siberia.  November  2'Jth,  picked  up  an  abandoned  junk  in  lat.  i'2 
N.,  long.  17(1    \V.,  about  '.M)0  luilen  from  the  American  Coast. 

33.  In  IH'iC),  the  American  bark  Mi.ssi iniir  Kinl,  Captain  Homer,  reported 
a  disabled  junk  at  (iuani.  Ladrone  Islands. 

.tl.  Ill  I8")(l,  Captain  Jno.  C.  Lawton,  in  the  brig  Prhunle  .hiinrillf,  while 
ge(tiiig  Kuano  at  CedroB  and  adjacent  islauds,  reported  a  Japanese  wreck,  seen 
near  Maj^'dalena  Hay. 

.'15.  In  IS.'iH,  the  U.S.  surveying  schooner  b'liiinmnrr  <'inij)er,  Lieut.  John 
M.  Brooke,  U.S.N,  commanding,  sailed  from  Honolulu  for  a  cruise  along  the 
chain  of  islands  extending  thence  towards  Japan.  He  had  on  board  a  Japan- 
ese Seaman  named  Marsa-Kitchi,  whom  he  landed  at  Kanagawa.  The  junk 
from  which  this  man  was  taken,  was  disabled  at  sea  while  engaged  in  the 
coasting  trade,  and  her  crew  were  forced  to  jmt  hor  before  the  wind,  heading 
to  the  eastward,  a  direction  in  which  they  were  forced  against  their  will.  To 
drevent  drifting  too  rapidly,  they  lowered  the*  ■  anchor  in  the  open  sea  to  act 
as  a  dra'.,',  paying  out  their  full  length  of  cable,  and  thus  allowed  it  to  remain 
until  it  tiually  parted. 

3t;.  In  1H,")8,  May  19th,  the  British  ship  ('orihmn,  when  in  lat.  13  40'  N., 
long.  171  E,  about  1,()(I0  miles  from  the  coast  of  Japan,  fell  in  with  a  dirt- 
masted  jmik,  which  had  carried  away  her  rudder,  and  had  been  about  live 
months  floating  helplessly  at  sea.  The  captain,  mate  and  ten  seamen  were 
rescued  and  brought  to  San  Francisco,  where  they  arrived  June  7,  1858. 
They  were  eared  for  by  Captain  Winchester,  who  took  them  in  the  ('itrihiini 
to  Vancouver  Island,  whence  he  was  bound  for  China,  but  having  met  a  Brit- 
ish war  Vessel  oft' Japan,  the  rescued  men  were  transferred  to  her,  and  thus 
landed  at  a  Japanese  port. 

The  junk  was  loaded  with  barley  and  rice,  and  barnacles  two  feet  long  were 
reported  found  upon  the  wreck. 

The  British  (iovernment  presented  £400  to  Captain  Winchester  asareward 
and  in  reimbursement  of  his  necessary  outlays. 

37.  In  185'J,  the  bark  ilainh'tK,  Captain  Brooks,  found  the  remains  of  a 
Japanese  junk  on  Ocean  Island,  lat.  'IH    '24    N.,  long.  178    21'  W. 

38,  31t.     In  1851),  July  Ith,  the  remains  of  two  stranded  junks,  with  lower 


NORTH    PACIFir    OPRAN. 


u 


h1«u(1.    [See 

<iltH()f  a  tint 
ite  straiKbt, 
tlic  wreck  in 
I'  of  Laving 

>urtnre,  the 
i  from  San 
•lupun,  who 
(jft"  from  a 
bs  Lt'liilcss 

irrived  her 
:  in  lat.  J'i 

r,  reported 

irillf,  while 
ivreck,  seen 

iieiit.  John 
e  alon^'  the 
•d  a  •liipan- 
The  junk 
i^ed  in  the 
il,  headin;^ 

will.  To 
I  sea  to  act 

to  remain 

:t  40-  N., 
vith  a  dis- 
iibout  five 
men  were 
7,  1858. 
6  '  'nviliiini 
net  a  Brit- 
,  and  thus 

long  were 

8  a  reward 

nins  of  a 

ith  lower 


tnuHtH  high  on  the  lieneb,  were  fonnd  on  the  enHt  or   lagoon  side  of  Hrooka 
Islan.l,  lat.  •J8    11    N .  long.  177    18    to  'i:>   W. 

■111.  May  11th.  lMt;2,  tlie  hark  I'.n-/,-. ,  ("apfain  Claxton.  pansed  in  Int. 'Jo 
;i'.»  N.,  long.  KJH  'il'  W.,  a  wreck  with  the  stump  of  one  mast  only  standing, 
of  which  the  wood  Whs  (|ui(e  black  with  age.  The  junk  was  wati'r-loggi  d, 
and  till'  sea  washing  entirely  over  her.  Heiiig  satistied  there  was  no  life  upon 
her,  and  a  heavy  sea  running,  did  not  board;  i)aMHed  her  three. (pnirterH  of  a 
mile  to  windward,  and  the   YunLn  kept  on  hercnurse. 

41.  In  I8ii2,  a  Ja|>aueHe  junk  was  stranded  in  Septend)er  near  Attn.  They 
had  drifted  in  distress  for  ltd  days,  and  out  of  u  crew  of  twelve  only  three  sur- 
vived. These  were  taken  in  iKCiU  to  Nicohiefsky,  Amoor  river,  and  then  re- 
turned to  Hakodate  liy  a  Uussian  war  vessel. 

42.  In  I8(i2,  May  4th,  the  ship  I'ic/oc,  Captain  Crowcll.  arrival  at  San 
Fiancisco,  with  the  captain,  otlicers  and  crew,  eleven  in  ninulur,  of  the  .)ap- 
antse  junU  ln-nnirn,  from  Kanagawa,  Dtcember  21,  18(11,  for  Owari  and 
Hiogo.  On  .laiiuary  "),  18C2,  was  disabled  and  drifted  from  land.  Was  about 
three  months  at  the  mercy  of  winds  and  currents,  until  j)icked  up  .Vpiil  13th, 
18(12,  in  lat.  :i:t  N.,  long.  Hil  21!  E.,  by  the  I' ;(•/(./•.  They  were  cared  for 
by  Mr.  Hrooks,  .ra])anese  Consul,  and  by  him  returned  to  Japan,  in  the 
American  schooner  I'linilhn'  E.  Fanlr,  for  Hakodate. 

i'A.  A  Jajjanese  junk  drifted  jjast  Baker's  Islan<l,  lat.  0  lH'  K.,  long.  17() ' 
'22  W.,  some  time  in  18(;;i,  Boats  were  sent  oiit  and  towed  it  on  to  the 
beach.     There  were  four  Japanese  bodies  on  board:   all  were  dead. 

44.  In  18(14,  February  ttli,  on  Providence  Island,  lat.  '.)  r>2'  N.,  long.  160^ 
0")'  E.,  on  the  Lagoon  shore  of  the  island  was  seen  the  portions  of  a  vessel 
which  had  bien  nuiny  years  a  wreck.  Scattered  along  the  outer  shori'  were 
many  redwood  logs,  some  of  them  of  great  size. 

45.  In  April,  l8()i),  an  abandoned  junk  was  stranded  on  Adakh,  one  of  the 
Aleutian  Isles. 

4(1.  In  1870,  in  OetobcT,  the  San  Salvador  ship  Lonimt  Ciiiniririi,  Cajjtain 
Demoro,  when  in  lat.  37  4(5'  N.,  and  long.  1,58  10  E.,  fell  in  with  a  dis- 
masted junk,  laden  with  rice,  having  four  dead  bodies  on  board,  and  no  living 
persons.  The  |)apers  and  ettects  were  taken  and  delivered  to  the  Japanese 
Consul  at  San  Fraucsico.  and  by  him  returned  to  Japan,  November,  1870. 

47,  48,  4".).  In  July,  1871.,  the  old  chief  at  Attn  Island,  ageil  70  years,  re- 
ported that  three  Japanese  junks  had  been  lost  u])ou  the  surrounding  islets, 
during  his  recollection,  besides  one  stranded  not  far  from  the  harbor  of  iLat 
island  in  1862. 

50.  In  1871,  February  2d,  in  lat.  3.  .5'  N.,  long.  1410  31'  E.,  about  150 
miles  from  the  coast  of  Japan,  the  American  ship  .l/uiic  .1/.  Snnill,  Captain 
Packer,  fell  in  with  the  Japanese  junk  Siiiiii-i^nsfii-iiiiirn,  of  Kiushiu,  and 
rescued  the  Captain  and  three  surviving  seamen,  and  laud(!d  them  at  San 
Francisco,  February  24,  1871.  They  sailed  from  Shiroko,  province  of  Ise, 
January  17,  1871,  for  Dai  Osaki,  with  a  cargo  of  wood.  Two  days  later  they 
were  disabled,  and  drifted  to  sea,  and  were  picked  up  seventeen  days  later. 

51.  In  1871,  May  23d,  in  lat.  34  54'  N.,  long.  143  32'  E.,  Pacific  Mail 
steamship  I'hitui,  Captain  Cobb,  rescued  five  Japanese  seamen  from  the  dis- 
abled junk  Sumi-ayee-maru,  of  Kobe.     Eleven  out  of  sixteen  originally  on 


16 


JArANESK    WKKCKS    IN    THE 


lioiird  dill!  ii|i(>ii  thr  wreck,  ftinl  the  <'ti|itaiii  of  thf  jnnk  ^\u'^\  on  the  stcumfr 
ullrr  l)iiiin  I'cHciicil.  Tlicv  wcif  c'lirt'd  for  l)y  Mr.  Hnxtkh.  who  ri'iiiriK-il  tlu'in 
lo  Vokoliitiiiii.  •Iiily  I.  I^TI ,  itiul  till' ^ovcrnnii'iit   priHt'iitcil  siiital>l<'  rt'wanlH. 

">J.  Ill  l><7 1,  till- ■lii|ii(iii'Hi'  junk  Jiiikn-iiiiirii,  of  Mutsuka,  of  |m(i  kokiiM 
iiK'UHiu'i  iiiriii,  I'liroiiiitrri'il  u  HfVcre  ^'iklt' •luniiiiry  IN,  InTI,  while  ^oiii|^  from 
Iho  to  Kiiiiiiiiio,  iliniii){  which  h\u:  liiMt  her  riulder,  ami  while  in  tliiu^'er  of 
foiiinli'i  ill),'  iMit  iiuiiv  her  iiiuMts.  The  junk  drifteil  fiiuii  the  nniM  of -lapaii  in 
the  Kiiro  Sliiwo  for  'J.'imii  miles  in  ii  hel|ilesH(!oiiilitioii,  lur  crew  keejiin),'  a  tire 
and  living  on  rice,  and  IIhIi  thuy  H]i«'ikred,  until  tliey  driflxloii  the  rockn  iit 
Atka,  .Inly  Mlth.  1^71.  where,  |py  means  of  ropes,  the  three  men  on  Ixiard 
hmded  safely.  There  they  n  inained  until  September  I'.'th.  IN7I,  when  they 
took  |)iisHit^'('  hy  Hc'liooiiei  //.  .)/.  Jlulrliiimiii  for  Ouiiiiluska  ikiid  Siui  FriinciH  >, 
whence  they  weri-retii'       I  to  •lujian  liy  the  ('onsiil. 

i'ui.     In  |m7:I,  Captuii       '.    B.    Coldi,    in  steamer   'liimi,   rescued  the  crew 

from  u  wrecked  junk  in  hit.  —  — '  N.,  lon^. '  I"..,  aiel  Itndi  il  them  at 

Vokoliaiiia.  ill  aeknowleil^'inent  for  which  the  uhuhI  present  .is  niude  him  )>y 
tlie  .lapaiiesi-  j^overnmeiit. 

')l.     \  junk  lias  heeii  reportt'd  iiH  Htriiuded  on  the  coast  of  .\laska. 

5.").  .\  junk  was  east  upon  the  windward  siile  of  Kaiiaii.  one  of  the  Hawa- 
iian Islands,  and  the  survivors  landed  at  llaiialei  harbor. 

"lip.  .Vii  iild  resident  of  t'etropaulski  informed  me  thi-re  was  a  'lapaneHit 
junk  sliainled  below  that  liarbiu.  previous  to  INI'2.  where  many  yeai-s  since 
the  wreck  still  remained.     Six  of  the  crew  survived. 

■"i7.  X  .Ia]ianese  wri'i'k  was  si^'hted  adrift  below  San  I)ie|^o.  UeiMUted  in 
till'  Alia. 

58.     A  junk  was  wrecked  at  Nootkn  Sound. 

.V.»  In  ls7rj,  April  tlth.  in  hit.  :t8  '  02N.,  lon^'  1C.4  38'  E.,  Airerican  ship 
iIkiiii  i'di-h-,  (,'iipt.  T.  ('.  Stoddard,  fell  in  with  the  .lajianese  junk  W.iiiiiiihi- 
iii'iiii,  of  ftlioiit  MO  tons,  dismasted,  with  her  stern  stove  and  rudder  goiii', 
and  generally  in  a  hel[)less  condition,  and  rescued  therefrom  twelve  •lapanese 
He.iinen.  Tlie  juiik  was  bound  from  Hakodate  to  Tokio,  with  a  car^^o  of  salt 
fish  and  sea-weed,  when  on  December  M  they  were  blown  oil' shore  in  ft 
severe  >;ale.  December  Ktth  they  ii^ain  made  tlie  land,  when  another  heavy 
gale  coiiinienced  and  blew  the  jirak  ott' again.  Decemlier  I'.Hh  was  forced  to 
c;.t  away  the  mast  to  save  the  hull.  December  "i'Jd  raised  a  jury  mast  and 
got  under  way,  sailin.i,'  towards  Japan  whenever  the  wind  permitted;  at  other 
times  took  ill  .sail  and  drifted.  Hy  their  reckoning,  they  estimate  having 
thus  sailed  b'lOl)  miles  west,  principally  with  northeast  winds,  when,  April 
Tlth,  in  a  bad  sea,  fliey  carried  away  rudder,  and  soon  after  stove  stern.  At 
8  A.M.  the  following  day,  they  abandoned  the  wreck,  from  which  they  were 
rescued  by  the  liniiif  Cork,  and  lan<led  at  San  Francisco  .Vjiril  'JSth,  and  were 
returned  to  .lapan  by  Mr.  Takaki  May  1st,  per  '//•"((  ItijuihUr,  For  the  rescue 
and  kind  treatment  of  thes  •  men,  the  Japanese  (Joveruii'ent  presented  Capt. 
Stoddard  with  a  gold  chronometer  watch  through  His  Excellency  Yoshida 
Kiyonari.  their  Minister  at  Washington. 

•;0.  In  iM7('..  July  ;kl,  in  lat.  37-  10'  N..  long.  1G7  3.",' E.,  British  barque 
,l/)/iy/  i',,iri>ir,  ('apt.  Nelson,  fell  in  with  the  Japanese  junk  Kdhi-nnini,  of 
Otaru,  island  of  Yeso,  of  177  kokus  government  uieasuremeut,  equivalent  to 


NORTn    PAriFIC    OCKAN. 


n 


till'  stl'illlDT 

tiiriii'il  tlifiii 

lilc   I'i'WardH. 

(•   IMO   k„kiis 

j,'iiinv,'  from 

II    (lull^'IT    of 

of  ■lapaii  ill 
I't'iiiii;,'  a  tirt' 
III'    idckH  lit 

II  1)11   lioiinl 

,   wlicli    tlll'V 

11  I'miitis    ,, 

•il  tlw  i-rew 
•  il  tlii'in  lit 
lailc  him  ))y 

:a. 

tile  Hawa- 
ii •lapuiiesn 
years  since 

Icpoitid  ill 


•rionn  ship 

II  •iiiiiiilii- 

liler  gone, 

e  .lapiiiiese 

ugo  of  salt 

shore  in  a 

her  lieavy 

forued  to 

niiist  niul 

1;  at  other 

iitc  liaviiig 

hen,  April 

stern.     At 

they  were 

aii'l  were 

the  rescue 

ited  Cupt. 

^'oshida 

sli  barque 

iii'int,  of 

ivah'Dt  to 


itkniit  l'2(l  tniiH.  The  junk  wnn  disinnHted  luul  tlontin^  in  a  helphxH  rondilion  . 
Hakiiki-harii  Katsiiln',  mate,  and  'riuimkitehi,  sailer,  tlio  only  siirvivorH  of  I'J 
men,  were  reHcueil  from  the  wreck  and  iiuule  tlie  following  Ntateiiient,  which 
is  very  interestiiig  n^  an  illustration  of  many  doiihtles-,  similar  struggles.  In 
Oclnlier.  iM'Ti,  ihc  junk  loadi  d  at  Sliaii  and  .Miashiri,  on  the  northern 
roast  of  the  island  of  Vi>so,  with  salted  saliiinii  and  preserved  roe  of  Hiiliiion, 
Left  latter  place  N'ovemli(>r  Tiih,  and  touched  at  lljikodati',  whence  they  saih  d 
Decemlier  <)th  for 'I'oki').  Nipleiii.  On  the  Hth,  whiti  on  the  east  coast  of 
Japan  hetwecn  hit.  :)'.»  and  10  N.,  and  ahoiit  long.  112  !■;..  a  severe  westerly 
gale  was  enciiuutered.  Di'cemlier  I'itli  CMirriod  away  niainiiiast.  .\fterwardn 
got  it  in  anil  fished  it  with  a  jiicce  of  the  main  yard.  On  the  Isth  carried  that 
must  away,  and  the  yard  was  washed  overhoard.  A  sea  soon  after  disabled 
the  rudder,  which  was  unsliipped  aud  taken  in,  the  vcHsel  in  Ihn  meantiiue 
making  water  freely.  To  lighten  her.  •'liiK  kokus  of  cargo  i  inarly  two-thirds), 
was  thrown  overboard.      l'"roiii  this  time  the  vessel  floated  helplessly. 

Early  in  January,  iNTti,  fresh  water  gave  out,  and  all  the  rainwater  possiblo 
was  saved  and  used.  Then  three  seamen  were  taken  down  with  the  scurvy, 
which  soon  apjieared  ainong  the  balance.  T.)wanls  the  close  of  .laiiuary,  tire- 
wood  gave  out,  but  a  (tmall  nucleus  of  fire  was  preserved  in  a  stove.  As  a  last 
resort,  the  junk's  h)at  was  broken  up  for  lirewnoil.  All  hiiiids  subsisting  on 
a  little  rice  cooked  in  rain  w.iter.  and  principally  on  salt  tish,  with  a  very 
HUiall  allowance  of  water.  February  .'itli  Chojero  died— the  first  death. 
March  lltli,  Capt.  Sato  Saiigoro  died;  tlu'ii  followed  Kilsaburo.  .Vpril  Idth; 
Huiikichi,  -ilst;  Ki/.o,  'ilth;  Heiikitc!.'!.  May  2d;  Ske.ljero,  2d;  Taske,  2d; 
lleihifihi,  1  Ith,  and  finally,  Matsutiiro,  Juno  10th.  The  two  survivors,  anti- 
cipating a  similar  death,  lingered  until  tli»»  forenoon  of  July  .'td,  when  they 
sighted  a  vesi'el,  had  Ntrength  enough  to  raise  a  signal,  and  were  re-ciicd. 
They  caught  rain  May  '24th,  after  nearly  all  had  died,  which  largely  assisted 
in  preserving  the  survivors.  They  "l^io  caught  fifteen  large  fresh  tish  called 
bonitii.  Before  the  captain  died,  he  wrote  and  handed  to  the  mate  letters  to 
his  family  aud  owners,  de.scribing  all  iletails.  The  two  Hurvivors,  expecting 
death  theiaselvos,  boxed  these  up,  with  the  ship's  papers,  and  fastened  them 
in  a  conspicuous  place,  whence  thiy  w(!re  taken  ami  preserved.  After  the 
death  of  ei.ch  person,  tlm  survivors  enclosed  their  bodies  in  a  Japanese  coffin 
auitably  ins  cribed,  aud  ntowed  them  in  the  hold  of  the  junk,  hoping  they 
might  reach  some  land  and  receive  burial.  The  survivors  reached  San 
Francisco  August  15th,  lH7fi,  and  after  recuperating,  were  returned  to  Japan 
by  Mr.  Takaki." 

Many  more  might  easily  be  added,  but  these  sufBce  to  establish  many  facts 
valuable  to  science. 

The  annual  rainfall  of  Japan  averages  70.33  inches,  occurring  on  197.7 
days,  two-thirds  of  which  falls  between  April  and  October;  at  Tokio  the  ther- 
mometer varies  from  a  monthly  maximum  of  1*1  Faht.  in  August,  to  a  min- 
imum of  20'  in  January,  avera.;iug  ijy"  22  for  the  yciu,  and  averages  4(S  33 
at  Hakodate,  where  the  average  number  of  hard  gales  per  annum  is  16.79. 
[See  Kaitakushi  Reports  and  Tables,  Tokio,  187.").] 

*— Note.— ThesB  last  two  cases  have  been  submitted  by  Mr.  Brooks  as  adiUtioDF  to  the 
I  i»t  for  public»tion  since  th*  trading  of  this  paper. 


18 


JAPANESE   WRECKS    IN    THE 


The  presence  of  wrecks  so  far  south  near  the  equator,  indicates  that  they 
Imd  l)(cn  swept  iiortl.  'vd  from  Japan  by  the  Kuro  Shiwu,  and  thence  sotith- 
ward  along  th(^  northwest  coast  of  America  until  they  fell  into  the  equatorial 
westerly  current,  where,  in  company  with  redwood  loK>i,  and  drift-wood  from 
Ore;^oii,  they  must  have  reached  these  islands  in  the  eciuatoriiil  belt. 

In  illustration  of  this  equatorial  current,  wo  have  the  report  of  residents  of 
Christmas  Inland,  which  speaks  of  a  westerly  current  setting  i)ast  that  island 
at  the  rate  of  one  and  a-half  to  two  miles  an  hour.  Augu;t  'l'M\,  lM(il,  there 
was  picked  up  on  the  shore  of  the  island  of  Xiihau,  in  latitude  21  od  N., 
longitude  160  IH'  W.,  a  bottle  containing  a  paper,  thrown  from  the  American 
shi]i  ir/'/V.  Sintlh>ii\  thrown  overboard  July  "ilst,  l«(!l,  in  latitude  21  lio'  N.. 
liingitude  lol  o5'  W.  It  had  mnde  a  nearly  (hie  west  drift  of  UiO  miles  in 
about  thirty-three  days.  This  shows  the  existence  of  a  very  powerful  westerly 
current  around  the  Hawaiian  Islands  of  about  It  miles  jxrdit-ni. 

Ill  1>sCp"2,  September  10th,  an  enormous  Oregon  tree  about  150  feet  in  length 
and  fully  six  feet  in  diameter  above  the  butt,  drifted  past  the  island  of  Mauii, 
Hawaiian  Islan<ls.  The  roots,  which  rose  ten  feet  out  of  water,  would  s))aii 
about  2")  feit.  Two  branches  rose  perpendicidarly  20  to  ^o  feet.  Several  tons 
of  dayish  earth  were  embedded  among  its  roots.  Many  saw-logs  and  pieces 
of  drift-wood  came  ashon^  in  this  vi(uuity  about  this  time.  These  W(;r(^ 
evidently  portions  of  the  immense  body  of  ship-timber  launched  iqiou  the 
Pacific  during  the  great  flood  of  the  previous  winter  along  the  American  coast. 
Their  almost  simultaneous  arrival  at  JIauii  in  September,  seems  to  indicate 
qtiite  accurately  the  force  and  direction  of  the  currents  in  this  ocean. 
Supposing  them  to  have  come  from  the  Columbia  River,  leaving  say  February 
ISth,  ]sr)2,  and  to  have  drifted  2,800  miles,  they  must  have  drifted  i.t  an 
average  rate  of  11  miles  per  day  to  have  reached  ^lauii  September  10th. 

We  may  argue  from  the  above  that  there  were  other  ways  of  explaining  the 
similarity  of  flora  upon  many  i.slands  of  the  Pacific  and  the  high  terrae(  s  of 
our  Sierra  Nevada  mountains,  beside  the  hypothesis  of  an  intervening  c<inti- 
nent  when;  the  broad  Pacific  now  rests. 

Theri:  is  a  strong  presumption  that  the  present  bed  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  may 
oner  have  been  an  extended  valley,  submcrgr'd  by  some  abrupt  and  spasmodic 
catastrophe,  at  a  j)eriod  when  the  fiery  interior  of  the  earth  was  in  a  state  of 
inconceivable  agitation,  and  its  equilibrium  temporarily  disturbed.  Abundant 
ruptures  of  t!ie  entire  combined  strata  of  its  crust  along  our  mountain  ranges, 
bear  indisputalile  evidence,  in  prominences  tilted  up  and  raised  to  immense 
hiights:  conditions  which  must  have  necessitated  corresponding  depressions, 
and  consequently  established  new  beds  for  water,  forming  new  islands, 
re-dividing  and  re-shaping  continents.  The  existing  shore  lines  of  enormous 
empty  basins,  the  pebble  and  cobble  stones  rounded  by  erotion,  at  present  in 
the  Centre  of  this  continent  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  all  contribute 
t(  stimony  of  some  great  change. 

The  spores  or  seeds  of  plants  may,  however,  have  been  more  recentlj'- 
transferred  by  clinging  to  the  earth  around  the  roots  of  such  mammoth  trees 
as  floatid  from  the  high  latitudes  of  the  northwest  coast  of  America.  Once 
cast  upon  any  island  and  rooted,  they  would  soon  replant  and  extend  fhem- 
selvc's.     Driftwood  from  Columbia  River  and  Puget  Sound  distributed  itself 


4 


i 


I 


NORTH   PACIFIC   OCEAN. 


19 


itcs  that  they 
tlicnee  soiitli- 
tho  e([uafi>riu! 
ift-W()t)(l  from 
b.lt. 

)f  vcsidouts  of 
ist  tliitt  islanil 
'(1,  l«(;i,  there 
.le21  .")()  N., 
th(?  Anu'ricau 
tie  21  ao'  N., 
4(')()  mih'S  in 
Pil'nl  westerly 

feet  in  liiif^tli 
and  (if  Mauii, 

would   spaic 

Several  tons 
;.s  and  pieces 

These  were 
lod  upon  the 
iieriean  coast, 
us  to  indicate 

this  ocean, 
say  February 
Irifted  I'.t  an 
r  Kith. 

X))laining  the 
j;h  terraees  of 
veuiug  eouti- 

c  Ocean  may 
id  spasmodic 
in  a  state  of 
I.  Abundant 
utaiu  ranges, 
to  iinmenso 
depressions, 
new  islands, 
of  enormous 
at  present  in 
I    contribute 

Dre  recently 
mmoth  trees 
arica.  Once 
ixtond  them- 
ibuted  itself 


throughout  the  North  Tacitic,  and  the  windward  shores  of  the  Hawaiian 
Islands  are  literally  lined  with  it,  as  well  as  with  redwood  logs  of  formidable 
size. 

Small  parties  of  male  Japanese  havi!  repeatedly  reached  the  .\iii('ri<an 
continent  by  sea,  east  upon  its  shores  after  tioating  helplessly  fur  uu)nlhs. 
Until  reeeutly,  the  survivors  must  have  remained  permanei'tly  near  where 
they  lauded,  and  naturally  uniting  with  women  of  the  native!  races,  have  left 
descendents  more  or  less  impressed  with  their  physical  peculiarities.  Siuh  a 
slow,  limited,  but  constant  infusion  of  Japanese  blood,  almost  entirely  from 
male  seamen,  was  undoul)tedly  sufficient  to  modify  the  original  stoclc  of  all 
coast  tribes  along  our  north-western  shore.  No  marks  exist  of  any  immigra- 
tion (■)(  init<:!^i\  neither  is  there  any  present  record  of  any  Japanese  woman 
saved  from  such  a  wreck,  although  eases  may  formerly  hav(i  occurred,  but. 
must  have  been  very  rare.  These  unfortunate  seamen,  often  illiterate,  and 
separated  from  their  sources  of  learning,  necessarily  lost  their  own  language; 
but  in  d'ling  so,  doubtless  contributed  many  isolated  words  to  the  Indian 
dialects  of  this  coast.  Many  shipwrecked  Japanese  hav(i  informed  me  that 
they  were  enabled  to  conmiiiiiicati!  with  and  understand  the  natives  of  Atka 
and  Adakh  Islands,  (iuite  an  infusion  of  Japanese  words  is  found  among 
some  of  the  coast  tribes  of  Oregon  and  California,  either  pure,  as  Isrln-lsi-lii', 
milk,  or  clipped,  as  hiuliH,  speed,  found  reduced  to  lii/ach-,  meaning  fast,  in 
Indian;  or  unkn,  evil  genius  in  .Japanese,  similarly  reduced  to  //<(/.■,  devil,  by 
the  Indians.  In  almost  all  words  showing  such  similarity,  the  Indian  Wf.rd  is 
always  an  aiibreviated  word,  or  shorter  word  than  the  Japanese,  from  which 
it  may  bo  argued  that  the  latter  was  the  original  and  the  former  derived.  The 
construction  of  the  two  languages  is,  however,  ditlereiit.  Therc^  are,  however, 
a  large  number  of  pure  .Japanese  words  and  some  very  tieculiar  Japanese 
"idioms,  constructions,  honorific,  separative,  and  agglutinative  particles  " 
found  nearly  identical  in  the  American-Indian  dialect.  Shipwrecked  Japan- 
ese are  invariably  enabled  to  communicate  understandiugly  with  the  coast 
Indians,  although  speaking  quite  a  different  language.  The  great  mass  of 
the  Japaueso  peopU^  stoutly  dis(!laim  any  common  descent  with  the  Chinese 
and  firmly  believe  they  have  a  wholly  different  origin.  Any  common  ancestor 
must  certainly  have  been  in  very  remote  ages. 

Professor  (leorge  Dandson,  in  charge  of  the  Uniteil  States  Coast  Survey 
on  the  Paeitic,  our  highest  authority  upon  questions  connected  with  tlui 
great  ocean  currents  of  this  ocean,  has  bestowed  much  critical  study  upon 
the  physical  conditions  connected  v.-ith  the  Kuro  Shiwo.  In  1H,")1,  when  sta- 
tioned at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  river,  he  began  the  interesting  investi- 
gations necessary  to  demonstrate  its  complete  outline. 

In  I'^'iS.  he  communicated  to  the  National  Academy  of  Science  his  deduc- 
tions establishing  the  existence  of  the  return  current  northwestward,  westward 
and  southwestward  along  the  shores  of  the  Gulf  of  Alaska,  and  the  southern 
co'i;t  of  the  .\leutian  Islands,  whilst  the  great  body  of  the  current  is  defU'cted 
down  the  novthw'ard  coast  until  it  is  drawn  into  the  (ireat  Equatorial  Current 
which  moves  westward  until  it  strikes  the  Asiatic  barrier,  and  thence  starts 
on  its  course,  about  the  island  of  Formosa,  as  the  great  Warm  stream  of  .lapan. 
He  first  showed  the  striking  analogy  between  this  stream  ami  that  of  the 


20 


JAPANESE   WRECKS    IN    THE 


I     I 


North  Atlantic,  especially  in  tluir  ori;,'in  at  latitude '23^,  their  being  nearly 
180  flegrees  of  longitude  ai):ut,  their  ^,'enernl  course,  etc.,  etc. 

There  is  a  branch  of  the  Knro  Shiwo,  which  shoots  ott'  northward  near 
Kainschatkii,  and  is  felt  5(1  or  100  miles  ott'  this  jtroniontory;  whilst  close  in 
Hhore,  a  cold  current  tlnws  southwanl  fr mi  the  Arctic  throui,'h  the  western 
part  of  Behi-iu',''s  Sirait^i.  On  Kanischatka.  the  Kurile  and  Aleutian  Islands, 
and  on  Alaska,  j^'reat  uuinb.T  of  disabled  .lap.ineso  junks  must  have  been 
stranded  in  past  centuries. 

I'rofi'ssor  D.iviils  ill,  who  has  hal  occasion  to  examine  the  Spanish,  Eng- 
lish, llussian  and  American  rec>rds  of  discoveries  in  this  ocean,  assures  me 
that  he  has  found  tmntion  of  at  least  a  dozen  or  more  junks,  wrecked  on  the 
coasts  of  Kamsch.itka.  within  a  eoinj)aratively  recent  period;  and  in  the  earlier 
descriptions  of  the  Kurile  Islands,  and  of  the  Kanischatka  Peninsula,  he 
says  fre([Uent  mention  is  made  of  the  wrecks  of  Japanese  junks  ui)on  these 
coasts. 

Both  winds  and  currents  of  the  North  Pacific  assist  in  driving?  disabled 
Japanese  junks  iuound  the  ■^Tcat  civcl  ■  of  the  Knro  Shiwo.  .\  junk  disabled 
ill  the  latitude  of  Tokio  would  be  swejit  by  alternat(!  southwest  and  northwest 
wimls,  and  tlio  existin{»  uortheastetly  current,  towards  the  northwest  coast  of 
America.  The  distance  fi'oin  ("ape  Kim.;  to  San  Francisco  is  about  •1,000 
nautical  miles.  We  have  here  abundant  proof  of  the  track  taken  by  these 
disabled  vessels,  by  a  study  of  their  p  isitions  when  found  drifting  at  sea  in  the 
Pacifie,  at  tln'  mercy  of  winds  and  waves. 

For  many,  many  centuries  the  coasting'  trade  of  Japan  lias  employed  alarge 
fleet  of  junks  in  exchanging  rice  from  their  southern,  for  salt  lish  from  their 
northern  ports.  .Vlth ough  it  may  be  presumed  that  the  large  number  of 
their  vessils  thus  disaliled  and  leiidered  unnninngeable,  undoubtedly  founder 
in  t\w  hc.Lvy  gabs  they  experience;  yet  comparatively  large  numbers  having 
cargoes  suitable  for  food,  and  crossiuL;  a  rcijiiin  subject  to  much  rain,  which 
is  easily  caught,  are  (Uiabied  to  sustain  lift'  until  either  picked  up,  or  stranded 
somewhere  on  the  American  coast,  or  some  island  in  their  course. 

In  tlu^  abov(!  sixty  cases  I'uumerated,  there  were,  from  l(il3  to  101)4,  fcmr 
cases;  from  I71'»  to  1782.  three  cases;  1804  to  IS'iO,  six  cases;  1H31  to  1848, 
eleven  cases;  and  since  the  rapid  settlement  of  this  coast  in  181)0  to  1870,  only 
'28  years,  we  have  a  list  of  3()  wrecks  reported.  This  apparent  increase  is  not 
owing  to  their  increased  iiuml)er.  but  solely  to  the  fact,  that  increase  of  com- 
merce on  the  Pacific  has  distributed  there  a  large  Heet,  whose  presence  has 
materially  increased  the  chances  of  rescue  to  disabled  vessels,  and  the  likeli- 
hood of  receiving  reports  from  stranded  wrecks. 

In  addition  to  the  list  wo  have  ennnjerated,  are  the  Hawaiian  traditions  that 
sri'd'itl  such  junks  were  wreckeil  on  Hawaii  before  the  year  1778;  to  which 
add  the  wrecks  from  which  the  18  .Japanese  were  returned  from  Honolulu  in 
1831,  also  tlu)se  frcun  wliich  came  the  junk  fidl  of  shipwreck  Japanese,  who 
attempted  to,  and  failed  in  returning,  by  ('heefoo  to  Nagasaki;  also  the  dozen 
additional  ones,  alluded  to  by  Professor  Davidson,  as  stranded  on  the  penin- 
sula of  Kanischatka,  within  a  e(un[)aratively  recent  period;  and  the  frequent 
meution  of  similar  wrecks  on  the  Kurile  Islands.  These  all  tiiken  together, 
with  yet  others  not  fully  verified,  could  scarcely  have  been  less  than  forty 


I 


NORTH     PACIFIC   OCEAN. 


21 


r  beiug  nearly 

mtliward  near 
whilst  dose  iu 
;h  the  western 
ntian  Islands, 
ist  have  been 

■>I>anislx,  Eng- 
II,  assures  nie 
recked  on  the 
in  the  earlier 
'<iiii)suhi,  he 
ks  uj)on  these 

i villi,'  disabled 
jnidi  disabled 
11(1  northwest 
iwest  coast  of 
!  about  l.oOO 
iken  by  these 
Jilt  sea  in  the 

:)lo_ved  a  large 
h  from  their 
e  number  of 
tedly  founder 
ibers  having 
1  rain,  which 
,  or  stranded 

;o  1(;!)4,  four 
H31  to  1848, 
to  1870,  only 
crease  is  not 
ease  of  com- 
jresenee  has 
id  the  likeli- 

aditions  that 
'8;  to  which 
Honolulu  in 
pauese,  who 
so  the  dozen 
u  the  peniu- 
he  frequent 
m  together, 
3  than  forty 


more,  rendering  it  reasonable  to  suppose  that  fully  one  hundred  wreckeil  Jap- 
aiii  se  junks,  have  been  heard  from,  in  one  way  or  another,  adrift  upon  the 
North  Paeilic,  or  stranded  on  the  northwest  coast  of  America  or  st)me  outly- 
ing islands. 

In  answer  to  the  (piestion  of  whether  any  of  these  waifs  have  ever  found 
their  way  back  to  Japan  from  the  American  coast,  iu  early  times,  I  can  say, 
tlid  Iroiu  historical  d;ita  still  extant,  and  from  the  personal  relations  of  de- 
sfeudants  of  some  of  such  returned  voyagers,  I  have  learned  that  iu  rare 
cases,  occurring  from  4il0  to  '2tiO  years  ago,  crews  actu  illy  reached  Japan  with 
tidings  of  the  American  coast;  and  Professor  Davidson  informs  me,  that  when 
recently  in  Ja])aii  observing  the  Transit  of  Venus,  a  very  intelligent  Jajiaiiese 
scholar,  well  known  to  nie  personally,  relate<l  to  him  a  well  authenticated  case 
within  this  century.  Formerly  sucli  accounts  wort-  not  allowed  general  jiub- 
licity,  because  stoutly  discountenanced  by  an  ecclesiastical  government,  to 
who:ii  such  discoveries  were  quite  as  repugnant  as  were  Galileo's  to  the  me- 
dieval government  of  Rome.  To  the  peact^ful  masses,  the  contines  of  their 
archipelago,  were  but  recently  the  horizon  of  the  world. 

The  fiinious  voyage  of  the  Buddhist  priest  from  China,  at  the  beginning  of 
the  seventh  century,  to  a  country  called  by  him  Fusaiig,  (^meaning,  translated 
"  to  aid  or  cullivatmg  mulberries,")  was  at  the  exact  jjcriod  when  .lapanese 
historians  record  their  first  official  intercourse  with  China;  and  was  probably 
riached  by  a  coasting  voyage  along  the  western  coast  of  Corea,  thence  along 
the  northern  coast  of  Niplion,  around  Yeso,  and  s>  utherly,  to  thesoiitheasleru 
shore  of  Xiphon,  where  mulberry  trees  were  then  cultivated  abundantly,  and 
which  was  undoubtedly  the  land  he  calhd  Fusaiig.  \  careful  study  of  th(i 
native  records  seems  to  indicate  that  his  much  mooted  Chinese  voyage  could 
not  possibly  have  extended  to  the  American  coast. 

Of  the  sixty  cases  here  reported,  27  wrecks  were  encountered  at  sea,  and 
the  balance  stranded,  as  follows:  On  the  .Aleutian  Islands,  H;  (Joast  of  Kani- 
Bchatka,  (i;  Alaska,  Oregon.  Hawaiian  and  Brooks  Islands,  two  each;  Oft' San 
Diego.  Acapulco,  Nootka  Sound,  San  Bonito,  Queen  Charlotte,  (^edros,  Prov- 
idence, Baker's,  Stapletim,  Ocean  and  Ladroiie  Islands,  oik?  each. 

In  23  cases  where  the  actual  number  on  board  was  named,  they  aggregated 
2!);J  persons;  an  average  of  125  persons  to  a  junk;  ranging  from  3  to  35  in  in- 
dividual cases. 

Where  definite  statistics  of  the  saved  are  given,  we  find  222  persons  saved 
in  33  cases;  an  average  of  Gi'4  persons  in  each  disaster.  On  eight  occasions, 
three  persons  each  were  rescued;  in  four  cases,  one  person;  and  on  four  other 
cases,  four  persons;  three  times,  eleven  were  saved;  and  twice  each,  0,  12,  15, 
17;  and  once  each  2,  6,  7,  '.),  10,  13,  were  saved. 

By  an  examination  of  the  above  figures,  we  may  estimate  the  probable  ex- 
tent of  Japftnese  blood  infused  into  the  Indian  tribes  around  the  shores  of  the 
North  Pacific. 

Fifteen  vessels  mention  having  drifted  helplessly  at  sea  an  aggregate  of  lOfiJ 
months,  averaging  a  little  over  seven  months  each. 

Eleven  cases  report  122  deaths ;  averaging  a  little  over  eleven  deaths  to  each 
wreck. 


22 


JAPANESE    WRECKS    IN   THE 


It  in  siiicorely  bopod  that  the  publication  of  this  record, 'which  has  so  inter- 
esting uu  (•thnologiciil  import,  may  result  in  awakening  Japan  to  the  adop- 
tion of  iinni<'(Uatn  stejis  in  the  great  interest  of  a  ('onitnon  humanity:  for  by 
improving  the  models  of  her  vessels,  and  udoi)ting  those  with  sea-going  (jual- 
ities,  this  long  record  of  disastera  may  speedily  be  abridged,  if  not  wholly 
terminated. 

About  a  year  since  it  became  my  duty  to  forward  to  Japan,  half  a  dozen 
wooden  models,  full  druwings  and  specifications  of  small  vessels,  varying 
from  10  to  "iOil  tons,  ordered  by  the  Japanese  government  for  the  use  of  ship- 
builibrs,  which  the  now  enlightened  government  has  ncoiiiniended  them 
to  adopt,  instead  of  their  presi'nt  form  of  junks.  Thus  the  edict  of  ltJ3'J  has 
])assed  away  forever,  an<l  young  Japan  is  rising  to  take  her  e(iual  place  among 
the  advancing  nations  of  the  world. 

Few  are  better  aware  than  the  scientist,  of  the  manifold  and  inevitable  dan- 
gers which  attend  all  radical  changes,  when  suddenly  made;  for  success  is  a 
problem  seldom  solved  without  repeated  trials  and  inevitable  failures.  Hut 
to-day,  Japan  is  earnestly  seeking  to  establish  her  national  perpetuity,  I'y  fos- 
tering a  discriminating  intelligence  among  her  people,  and  by  encouraging 
general  and  liberal  education  among  the  masses.  Thus  she  reverses  in  tin; 
most  practical  nnmner,  the  other  edict  alluded  to  as  promulgated  in  KiitT. 
Ilercentiu'ies  of  quiet  seclusion  are  now  embalmed  with  the  history  of  the  past, 
and  she  Seeks  true^jreatness,  in  an  enlightent.'d  administration  of  her  national 
affairs,  and  bids  fair  henceforth  to  reciprocate  a  generous  friendship  towards 
all  members  of  the  great  brotherhood  of  nations,  from  whom  she  may  now 
claim  ecjual  sympathy  and  neighborly  protection. 

The  great  changes  in  Japan  can  not  be  better  illustrated  than  in  the  fact, 
that  it  is  now  customary  for  the  government  of  Japan,  in  common  with  all 
other  nations,  to  i)resent  through  their  Foreign  oIKce,  some  suitable  reward 
in  acknowledgement  of  kind  service,  to  the  captains  of  vessels  who  rescue 
their  shipwrecked  seamen. 

The  Japanese  (Tovernment  have  now  in  their  navy  ten  war  shii)s,  five 
disi)atch  vessels,  and  Ave  training  ships,  all  steamers;  and  in  their  mercantile 
marine,  one  hundred  and  two  steamers  of  various  tonnage,  aggregating  1)0,718 
tons;  also  [ii  moilern  sailing  vessels  built  in  foreign  style  of  7,IM0  total  ton- 
nage. 

The  great  Pacific  Ocean  and  its  adjoining  waters,  under  the  impulse  of  this 
age  of  steam,  is  becoming  the  highway  of  an  enterprising  commerce,  and 
steadily  unfolds  an  attractive  tield  of  research  to  ethnological  and  linguistic 
archti'dlogists. 

Many  young  Japanese  are  already  attracted  to  scientific  pursuits,  and 
their  valuable  technical  as  well  as  general  results,  are  beginning  to  claim  the 
attention  of  naturalists. 

Much  valuable  scientitie  work  has  been  done  by  Japanese  scholars  since 
their  early  lessons  received  from  Professor  Wm.  P.  Blake  and  Professor 
Rajihael  Pnmpelly;  two  eminent  American  scientists,  whom  I  had  the  honor 
of  selecting  and  engaging  in  the  sumnn^r  of  18fil,  on  behalf  of  the  government 
of  Japan,  to  act  as  government  Mineralogists  and  Mining  Engineers. 


NORTH    PACIFIC     OCEAN. 


23 


A  glorious  opcninst  now  presents  itsflf  for  some  rfliiilil.-  nm\  coiiiiictout 
scholar,  with  pecuiiiiiry  meftus  at  coiniimnd,  to  collect  a  lilirary  of  books  re- 
lating to  the  Asiatics  shores  of  the  North  raeifle  ocean,  a^  perfect  in  its  way 
as  is  that  of  our  f;;reat  historian,  Hubert  II.  Hancrnft,  relating  to  the  native 
races  of  the  American  coast;  and  when  as  systematically  classitied,  and  as 
thoroughly  studied,  give  to  the  world  full  ami  correct  histori<'ul  details  anil 
analytical  dassilications  of  all  native  races  on  the  borders  of  Asia;  many  of 
wliose  records  and  traditions  must  necessarily  fade  with  radical  changes  in 
civilization,  and  soon  pass  beyond  human  reach. 

The  splendid  sunrise,  now  dawning  in  the  Orient,  otbrs  golden  opportun- 
ities, which  should  be  promptly  improved  while  availabh'.  Old  ways  are 
giving  i)lace  to  new,  and  invaluable  treasures  of  anti([uity.  may  be  lost  for- 
ever, or  cast  aside  to  linger  for  a  generation  or  two,  in  the  niemoric  s  of  the 
aged,  before  their  shadowy  forms  become  enshrouded  ni  the  misty  veil  of  a 
forgotten  past. 


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The  National  Anus  of  .I»pan. 


(ChryKftutheimmi.) 


